Saturday, 28 April 2012

An event that is annually set aside to celebrate
comics and to encourage lapsed or new readers, it's all happening next Saturday
the 5th of May 2012. (At a comic shop near you.)

Oh and there are free comic books too - did I mention that?

Myself and The Boy Wonder will be doing a little tour of
a couple of great comics shops to celebrate the day.
First up is the great Chaos City Comics at 20 Heritage Close, St Albans, Herts, UK, AL3 4EB
and my own personal LCS (www.chaoscitycomics.com). If you are a follower of this blog you'll know what a great place
this is for the comics fan. Run by manager Derek and assistant manager and budding
artist Luke (have a look at some of his great art over at www.lukeridge.co.uk ) it's a shop with a real sense of
community.
Along with the comics and collectables there will be a signing
and sketch session by red hot artist Marc Laming. (www.monkeyman.blogspot.com or on Twitter at @monkey_marc) His work has included American Century for DC Comics, The Rinse for Boom Comics and he is currently
knocking it out of the park with his art on Boom's Planet of the Apes books
(covers and interior art on Exile on the Planet of the Apes with Gabriel
Hardman).

A great POTA sketch by Marc Laming.

This should be excellent and can't wait to get a sketch from
Marc. This guy is moments away from being snapped up by one if the big two and
it'll be great to get some original art from him.

If you are local to St Albans why not pop along and buy some comics and enjoy the atmosphere of the day.
Then it's on to Dead
Universe Comics at Unit 10, the Cloisters, 31 Great Western Street, Friars Shopping Arcade, Aylesbury. (Have a look at Dead Universe Comics on Facebook). Run by the ever enthusiastic Ian.

Dead Uniuverse has the following planned for FCBD.

'There will be comic signings by local creators Aylesbury Dead,Little Terrors, Popcorn the Comic and Japan Comic Aid, plus other announcements for future titles being published by Dead Universe Comics. Several thousand comics and related items will be given away on the day in grab bags for Children, Teens and Adults.There will be a costume parade ( Time and details to be announced shortly), Face painting, Raffle & Tombola.We will also be holding demonstrations for trading cards games: Magic the Gathering & Yu-Gi-Oh, plus heroclix, board and role playing games too.'﻿

Sounds like a great day for comics fans in Aylesbury and well worth a visit.

If you are about and see myself and The Boy Wonder on our day out make sure that you say hi.

Sunday, 15 April 2012

Due to a timely recommendation from the owner of my local comic shop (shout out to Derek and Luke at www.chaoscitycomics.com) I picked up the first three issues of The Comix Reader for the princely sum of £3.00. (Actually £2.70 with my pull list discount).

Edited by Richard Cowdry these are well worth a look. Issue number 3 has just been released and you can have a read about and a gander at those involved over at www.thecomixreader.com

They are newspaper sized and have a similar paper stock to 'Wednesday Comics' from DC Comics from a couple of years ago. The cover art on the first three issues has a real 1960s vibe (as was clearly intented after reading the editorial in issue 1). Almost as if they have been produced at the same time as Robert Crumb and Co were creating their comics. (With a little bit of Deadline or Escape thrown in for good luck). They have a slightly washed out colour feel to the covers as if they have been left out on a doorstep in the Sun. I am not complaining at all about this as to me this adds to their charm.

Each of the first three issues are packed with talent. As with all anthologies there are a few poorer strips but most of the work is solid to excellent. Personal favourites include 'Tree Top Singers; an OdeTo Man' or 'Birdsong Translated' by Gareth Brookes. Gareth is always very funny and is a very talented guy. These comments had me laughing out loud.

Another highpoint of all three issues and hopefully the upcoming issues are the strips by Steve Tillotson. I have been a fan of Steve's stuff since bumping in to him at various small press events and being lucky enough to work with him in a minor role on his previous anthology comic Banal Pig Portrait Anthology (http://www.banalpig.com/blog/?page_id=194).

Always funny, never pandering and a cool read, Steve's stuff can be found at the aforementioned www.Banalpig.com or he can be found at numerous events or on Facebook. His poster for the Leeds Alternative Comics Fair is one of my personal favourites and can be seen over at http://leedsalternativecomics.wordpress.com/

Other noteworthy pieces include Elliot Baggott's cover to issue 3 (see above) and his strip in the same issue entitled 'Johannes Guttenberg - Inventor of Printed Movable Type'.

Being Homeless Ain't Swell by Scott Jason Smith has a bit of a Daniel Clowes feel to it. Find him at www.scottjasonsmith.com

I really liked Minor Head Injuries by Alex Potts and it has a touch of Jeffrey Smith crossed with The Beano. Very nice art with some cool soul searching word panels. (Although not sure I believed he was reading a Hunter S Thompson book?? - fits the story though I suppose). Find Alex over at www.lostshoe.co.uk

There are too many enjoyable strips to name check in this short piece.

I think that most UK comics fans (or just plain art fans) will agree that we have needed something like this for a while. UK Small Press has had a bad name for too many years now because of the stifling heritage of Bristol and similar incestuous events.

A kind of Underground Comics Cool bleeds through the pages of The Comix Reader and it has a great energy to the overall production. Their release party for the most recent issue was held at GoshComics in central London and I can see that this work well suits the trendy Soho Comics Shop. Great supporters of small press over the years I urge you to pop in there and pick up some other work by these guys. They are at a relatively new venue so pop in and don't be afraid of all the seedy shops nearby www.goshlondon.com

Luckily my LCS stocked this title and if your's isn't (dear fanboy) start banging on the counter and asking why not.

I found this flyer to what is probably the first Comic mart I went to in 1982.

This was a huge deal for me back then and got i dropped off by my father at the Central Hall in Central London (right next to the House of Commons and Big Ben). I spent all day digging through back issues in the packed hall.

I think I picked up some missing Legion issues and Carmine Infantino Flash issues.

Some great comics purchased at Dead Universe Comics in Aylesbury, Uk today.

Supernatural Thrillers #3 featuring Robert E Howard's 'The Valley of the Worm'. Adapted by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway and superb art by Gil Kane and Ernie Chua. Published by Marvel in 1972. This book looks surprisingly sharp and has a bit of a John Carter feel to it.

Skull The Slayer issues 1-4. Issue one especially has a gorgeous cover and is written by Marv Wolfman and art by Steve Gan. A great pulpy feel to the series which could do with a modern day restart.

Plus issue one of Red Wolf 'Masked Avenger of the Western Plains!' I can't make out a signature on the cover but looks like John Severin to me. Inside you can see that it's written by Gary Friedrich and art by Sid Shores. (With a plot assist by Roy Thomas). Very dialogue heavy but fun nevertheless.

This should fill the endless void of the English Bank Holiday weekend!